Michael Santarcangelo

Delivering value in a world built to overlook it. Trusted advisor, close counsel. Founder of ValueSmith™. 30 years in the trenches.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

It’s easier to see the cost of delivery than the loaded cost of operating it.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

Yesterday’s workaround can become today’s workload.

[Shawn E. Tuma @shawnetuma]

The core of leadership (or 'commander's intent') is painting a clear picture of the desired outcome. Empower your team with this vision, then let them creatively find the best path to achieve it. #Leadership #Management

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

Attention on stalled work can feel like blame. What if it’s a chance to show a way forward—and ask for what’s needed?

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

“I’ll just handle it” can make an unsustainable workload look sustainable.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

Did they lie? No. Did they believe it? Yes. Was it accurate? Also, no.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

Put it on paper and the argument moves from the person to the paper.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

The cost is still there, even when you don’t need to ask for more budget.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

If it’s important, what keeps displacing it?

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

You can feel friction. You can't see gaps.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

An executive's ask sounds like a priority. Often they're just thinking out loud.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

There’s a column for cost, down to the penny. Where is the column for benefit?

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

They know the cost. Do they see the benefit?

We're working our asses off. Delivering what was asked for. But the results aren't getting recognized as valuable.

Instead, we hear: "I know what you guys do is important, but what do you do? Why does it cost so much? Why does it take so long?"

Value equals benefits minus costs.

They know the cost down to the penny. There's a column for it. Where is the column for benefit?

If they can't see the benefit, but they can see the cost, the calculation in their heads becomes zero minus cost. It leaves us holding a ledger that's reading in the red.

The benefit has to be realized for the value to be recognized.

Our opportunity is to connect them to the benefit. That starts with delivering an outcome that makes something better for somebody.

Before we start the work, who's got to recognize it as valuable? What benefit will they realize from the outcome?

Those questions give us a focus: do work that delivers a beneficial outcome somebody else can realize. Then they have a benefit to weigh against the cost.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

The person who asks for the work is often not the person who needs to recognize it as valuable.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

People often ask for their best guess at the solution, not the problem they need to solve.

[Michael Santarcangelo @catalyst]

You can't show what you don't see.

[yoni rechtman @yrechtman]

How to write a forwardable email

TDLR- I want to just press “f” in superhuman, comment on on top of what you’ve said, and press send. Make it easy.

I get asked to pass along notes all the time. I proactively offer to do so just as often. Here’s how to help me (or anyone else) help you get what you want out of this interaction.

Do This
-Write in your voice about yourself. “I’m Yoni, a partner at Slow…”
-Include all the context the person will need (who you are, why you want to meet them, links, etc.)
-Send individual emails for each person you want me to forward to (“would love to get connected to Yoni”)
-Keep it short.

Don’t Do This
-Write as though you are me talking about you (“I met this guy named Yoni”). I promise you it won’t sound like me, at least not to me and it makes it harder to just press forward

[Erwan Le Corre @ErwanLeCorre]

Gentle breath-holding is a non-pharmacologic intervention for stress reduction.

It goes like this:

Inhale normally.
Short hold.
Exhale, inhale.
Short hold.
etc.,

Don't count and forget about time.
Exhale long before discomfort.
Relax and appreciate the experience.

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

You'll think better with a pen in your hand.

[Arlington National Cemetery @ArlingtonNatl]

100 years ago tomorrow, the first armed military guard stood watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Explore this history in our digital publication: A Tomb in the Heart of the Nation: The Origins and Creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: https://t.co/emvpeHRGBs